Sussex's coastal towns will be rescued from a downward spiral of unemployment, crime and coastal erosion, the Conservatives have promised.

The Tories unveiled a policy package for seaside resorts including Brighton and Hove, Eastbourne, Hastings and Worthing which they claimed had been "sidelined" under Labour.

And the Shadow Cabinet spent the day shivering on seafronts around England, with universities and skills spokesman David Willetts visiting Brighton.

The party's report, No Longer The End of the Line, pledged a Conservative government would allow privately owned, listed seaside heritage attractions - such as piers - to apply for Lottery funding. It would cancel a council tax revaluation that it claims would hike bills for households enjoying sea views, and it would launch a drive to increase the number of coastal households with flood insurance.

In a separate Tory attack, Shadow Environment Secretary Nick Herbert claimed the Government had no firm idea how many homes were at risk of being lost to the sea due to coastal erosion, despite the impact of climate change. He demanded urgent action to make data on coastal erosion publicly available.